Education in ancient Sparta
In ancient Greece, there were two kinds of education: Spartan and Athenian (which corresponds to the great division of the Greek society into two kinds of social systems and military alliances). Spartan education was basically a military one, while the Athenian was more balanced, developing both the body and the mind. Wikipedia writes on the Spartan education: "the Spartans structured their educational system as an extreme form of military boot camp, which they referred to as agoge.[27] The pursuit of intellectual knowledge was seen as trivial, and thus academic learning, such as reading and writing, was kept to a minimum. A Spartan boy’s life was devoted almost entirely to his school, and that school had but one purpose: to produce an almost indestructible Spartan phalanx. Formal education for a Spartan male began at about the age of seven when the state removed the boy from the custody of his parents and sent him to live in a barracks with many other boys his age.[28] For all intents and purposes, the barracks was his new home, and the other males living in the barracks his family. For the next five years, until about the age of twelve, the boys would eat, sleep and train within their barracks-unit and receive instruction from an adult male citizen who had completed all of his military training and experienced battle.[29] The instructor stressed discipline and exercise and saw to it that his students received little food and minimal clothing in an effort to force the boys to learn how to forage, steal and endure extreme hunger, all of which would be necessary skills in the course of a war.[30] Those boys who survived the first stage of training entered into a secondary stage in which punishments became harsher and physical training and participation in sports almost non-stop in order to build up strength and endurance.[31] During this stage, which lasted until the males were about eighteen years old, fighting within the unit was encouraged, mock battles were performed, acts of courage praised, and signs of cowardice and disobedience severely punished.[32] During the mock battles, the young men were formed into phalanxes to learn to maneuver as if they were one entity and not a group of individuals.[33] To be more efficient and effective during maneuvers, students were also trained in dancing and music, because this would enhance their ability to move gracefully as a unit.[34] Toward the end of this phase of the agoge, the trainees were expected to hunt down and kill a Helot, a Greek slave". To kill a man, as a "final examination" - what a society! But this society was based on slave labor, and in this case these were "Helots", whom the Spartans conquered and made into slaves. In general, education reflects class structure of a society. It is impossible to reform the educational system, without overthrowing the entire social system and class oppression, upon which it is based. More details on the Spartan education can be found here . Category:First Essay on Education, 2000 Category:Education Category:Ancient Greece